Pope, was a Roman by birth, and succeeded Adrian. Marinus, or Martin II. in 884. His virtue, zeal, and firmness, gave favourable presages of his future career; but he was cut off by death in the 13th month of his pontificate, during a journey to Worms, whither he was proceeding to hold a diet. He was at variance, like his predecessor, with the patriarch Photius, who rejected the doctrine that the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father and the Son.

Adrian IV. Pope, the only Englishman who ever had the honour of sitting in the papal chair. His name was Nicholas Brekesperce, and he was born at Langley, near St Albans, in Hertfordshire. His father having left his family and taken the habit of the monastery of St Albans, Nicholas was obliged to submit to the lowest offices in that house for daily support. After some time he desired to take the habit in that monastery, but was rejected by the abbot Richard. Upon this he resolved to try his fortune in another country, and accordingly went to Paris; where, though in very poor circumstances, he applied himself to his studies with great assiduity, and made a wonderful proficiency. But having still a strong inclination to a religious life, he left Paris and removed to Provence, where he became a regular clerk in the monastery of St Rufus. He was not immediately allowed to take the habit, but passed some time by way of trial, recommending himself to the monks by a strict attention to all their commands. This behaviour, together with the beauty of his person and prudent conversation, rendered him so acceptable to the monks, that after some time they entreated him to take the habit of the canonical order. Here he distinguished himself so much by his learning and strict observance of the monastic discipline, that upon the death of the abbot he was chosen superior of that house; and we are told that he rebuilt the convent. Pope Eugenius III. being apprised of the great merit of Nicholas, and thinking he might be serviceable to the church in a higher station, created him cardinal-bishop of Alba in 1146. In 1148 the Pope sent him as legate to Denmark and Norway, where, by his fervent preaching and diligent instructions, he converted those barbarous nations to the Christian faith, and erected Upsal into an archiepiscopal see. When he returned to Rome, he was received by the pope and cardinals with great marks of honour; and Pope Anastasius, who succeeded Eugenius, happening to die at this time, Nicholas was unanimously chosen to the holy see in November 1154, and assumed the name of Adrian. When the news of his promotion reached England, King Henry II. sent Robert, abbot of St Albans, and three bishops, to Rome, to congratulate him on his election; upon which occasion Adrian granted very considerable privileges to the monastery of St Albans, particularly an exemption from all episcopal jurisdiction, excepting to the see of Rome. In virtue of the pretensions of the Roman see in those days to dispose of kingdoms, Adrian, by a papal bull, conferred on Henry II. of England the sovereignty of Ireland; and that prince, stimulated by the success with which some of his own subjects had established themselves in that distracted country, eagerly closed with the pope's proposal to resign for this bull the long-contested point of lay investiture to ecclesiastical offices. The consequence of this agreement was the speedy reduction of Ireland, by a trifling force, to the crown of England. Adrian, in the beginning of his pontificate, boldly withstood the attempts of the Roman people to recover their ancient liberty under the consuls, and obliged those magistrates to abdicate their authority, and leave the government of the city to the pope. In 1155 he drove the heretic Arnold of Brescia, and his followers, out of Rome. The same year he excommunicated William, king of Sicily, who ravaged the territories of the church, and absolved that prince's subjects from their allegiance. About the same time Frederick, king of the Romans, having entered Italy with a powerful army, Adrian met him near Sutrium, and concluded a peace with him. At this interview Frederick consented to hold the pope's stirrup whilst he mounted on horseback. After this, his holiness conducted that prince to Rome, and in St Peter's church placed the imperial crown on his head, to the great mortification of the Roman people, who assembled in a tumultuous manner, and killed several of the imperialists. The next year a reconciliation was brought about between the pope and the Sicilian king, that prince taking an oath to do nothing further to the prejudice of the church, and Adrian granting him the title of King of the Two Sicilies. He built and fortified several castles, and left the papal dominions in a more flourishing condition than he found them. But notwithstanding all his success, he was extremely sensible of the disquietudes attending so high a station; and declared to his countryman, John of Salisbury, that all the former hardships of his life were mere amusement to the misfortunes of the popedom, that he looked upon St Peter's chair as the most uneasy seat in the world, and that his crown seemed to be clasped burning on his head. Baronii He died September 1. 1159, in the fourth year and tenth month of his pontificate, and was buried in St Peter's church, near the tomb of his predecessor Eugenius. There are extant several letters and some homilies written by this pope.

Adrian V. Pope, a Genoese, whose name was Ottoboni Fiesci, succeeded Innocent V. A.D. 1276. He was by his uncle Innocent IV. created cardinal-deacon of St Adrian, and in 1254 sent by him to England, to settle the disputes between Henry III. and his barons. He was employed again for the same purpose by Clement III., when he issued a sentence of excommunication against the king's enemies. When he was congratulated on his accession to the papal chair, he said, "I wish you had found me a healthy cardinal rather than a dying pope." After his election he went to Viterbo to meet the emperor Rudolphus, for the purpose of opposing the usurpation of Charles, king of the Two Sicilies; but died soon after his arrival, having enjoyed his dignity only 38 days. He zealously encouraged the crusade to the Holy Land, and upon his election sent a large sum to Constantinople towards building galleys.

Adrian VI. Pope, was born at Utrecht in 1459. His father was not able to maintain him at school, but he got a place at Louvain, in a college in which a certain number of scholars were maintained gratis. It is reported that he used to read in the night-time by the light of the lamps in the churches or streets. He made considerable progress in all the sciences, led an exemplary life, and there never was a man less intriguing or less forward than he. He took his degree of doctor of divinity at Louvain, was soon after made canon of St Peter's and professor of divinity at Utrecht, and then dean of St Peter's and vice-chancellor of the university. He was obliged to leave an academical life to be tutor to the archduke Charles. This young prince made no great progress under him; but never was a tutor more eminently rewarded; for it was by Charles V.'s interest that he was raised to the papal throne. Leo X. had given him the cardinal's hat in 1517. After this pope's death, several cabals in the conclave ended in the election of Adrian, with which the people of Rome were very much displeased. He would not change his name, and in every thing he showed a dislike to all ostentation and sensual pleasures, in marked contrast to the general temper of the times. He was very partial to Charles V., and did not enjoy much tranquillity under the triple crown. He lamented much the wicked morals of the clergy, and wished to establish a reformation of manners among them. He died September 14. 1523, it is said, by poison. ADRIAN, Cardinal, an Italian of great learning and ability, was a native of Cornetto, in Tuscany, and studied at Rome. He was sent by Innocent VIII. as nuncio into England, where Henry VII. rewarded his services with the bishopric of Hereford, and afterwards with that of Bath and Wells; but he never resided in either of these dioceses. On his return to Rome, he became secretary to Pope Alexander VI., who employed him in various missions, and subsequently invested him with the purple. He narrowly escaped death on the day that Alexander VI. fell a victim to his own wickedness, in the plot which he had contrived, in concert with his son Cesare Borgia, against Adrian and several other cardinals, in order to seize upon their possessions; but although Adrian likewise partook of the poison, he recovered. He then took refuge in the mountains of Trent, where he remained until the elevation of Leo X. to the papal chair; but, not long after, he was implicated in the conspiracy of cardinal Petrucci against that pontiff, and obliged a second time to fly from Rome. His subsequent history has not been ascertained; but it is generally supposed that he was murdered by a domestic, who coveted his wealth. Adrian was one of the first who restored the Latin tongue to its original purity. He wrote two good works,—De Vera Philosophia, a religious treatise, printed at Cologne in 1548; and De Sermone Latino, a learned work, published at Rome in 1515, in folio.